by AZ Free Enterprise Club | May 30, 2025 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
Within President Trump’s first 100 days in office, he has issued back-to-back executive orders aimed at cleansing America of woke ideologies as well as dismantling the Green New Scam. States can hardly keep up with the rapid changes being made. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary (USDOT) Sean Duffy is leading the effort to defund city projects involving road diets and “green infrastructure.” Leftists and bike-enthused activists are losing their minds over the removal of “Complete Streets” links on the USDOT website, horrified by the idea that vehicle travel might be prioritized over barely used bike lanes.
And good to his promise to unleash American energy, Trump’s team has eliminated excessive greenhouse gas (GHG) rules, vowed to get existing and new coal plants opened, and most recently played a major role in the House’s passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill” that included the repeal of many of the Inflation Reduction Act green scam subsidies. Every day this administration is dismantling the Green New Grift and restoring practical, pro-America policies.
And if there ever was a city in Arizona that should be jumping on the Trump bandwagon – it’s the City of Prescott. Prescott is a conservative community where registered Republican voters out number Democrat voters 3:1. It’s “Trump Country.” But take a look at Prescott’s recently proposed General Plan and you would never know it.
In Arizona, every municipality is required by statute (ARS §9-461.05) to build out and adopt a General Plan that outlines a pathway for growth in the community, covering topics such as land use, transportation, environment, water, and energy. This seemingly innocuous document that must be ratified by voters has become a pathway for city bureaucrats to sneak woke ideologies and climate goals into city planning…
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | May 19, 2025 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
Joe Biden caused a lot of damage in just four years as president. He undermined national security, cratered the economy, and weaponized the deep state against ordinary Americans and civil liberties. Considering these monstrous failures, the devastation he caused in transportation and infrastructure is largely overlooked. But shockingly, Biden’s USDOT director Pete Buttigieg made it pretty far down the road implementing a woke transportation agenda across the country.
In the past decade, environmentalists and central planners have linked arms with woke evangelists to radicalize transportation policy across the country. This was super-charged under Biden’s administration that pushed propaganda about roads being racist, rewrote rules and policies to force the Green New Deal, and made billions in grants to states and localities contingent on them adopting this woke agenda.
Now, Trump is hitting the brakes on the Left’s anti-car agenda, and in just 100 days Secretary of USDOT Sean Duffy has begun reversing course, cleansing the agency of DEI, environmental red tape, and wasteful and damaging spending…
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by Staff Reporter | Apr 26, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Prescott residents are citing concerns over what they believe to be a progressive slant directing the city’s 2025 General Plan.
The latest draft of the general plan was rolled out for last month’s city council meeting. State law requires cities and counties to introduce growth-related plans every decade. These plans must include maps, diagrams, objectives, principles, standards, and plan proposals pertaining to land use, circulation and transportation, open space, growth areas, environmental planning, public services and benefits, and water resources.
Communities with populations over 50,000 persons must also include plans for conservation, recreation, extensive transit, public services, public buildings, housing, rehabilitation and redevelopment, public safety, bicycles, energy, and neighborhood preservation and revitalization.
The plan focuses on five “livability” goals: resiliency and sustainability (fire, environmental planning, water resources, climate, and energy); community connection (circulation or transportation, open space, wildlife corridors, and digital connectivity); great places and neighborhoods (land use and growth areas, historic preservation, recreation, dark skies, tree city USA, and bike and pedestrian paths); economic competitiveness and prosperity (economic development, tourism, growth and cost of development, housing, and the Prescott Regional Airport); and community quality (police, education assets, library, community center, healthcare assets, childcare and youth programs, and arts and culture).
Certain strategies of concern (out of over 300 proposed) outlined in the plan include developing and funding a transit system, changing wood burning stove and fireplace standards, redeveloping stormwater infrastructure to be “green” and more sustainable, changing new development ordinances, eliminating emissions in city-owned buildings, establishing electric vehicle infrastructure, redesigning local streets for lower speeds and multimodal use, and establishing a “Dark Sky” lighting code.
Some of these strategies hinged on the initial or continued reliance on local and federal funding.
A group of concerned, longtime citizens, “Prescott Pulse,” say the general plan would not only adopt California-esque policies, but jeopardize millions in housing, transit, airport, and water federal funding due to likely conflicts with the Trump administration’s prohibitions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Specifically, the group cited concerns over the inclusion of language expanding discrimination or harassment protections to sexual orientation and gender expression or identity.
The group also cited concerns over the plan’s extensive focus on enacting climate change policy, as well as the costs for proposed “Vision Zero” speed humps and cameras, lighting retrofits, bike lanes, tree mandates, and the additional property taxes connected with environmental reforms.
“We’ve watched as skewed narratives and incomplete information leave most residents unaware of what’s truly happening in our city council until decisions hit home and it’s too late to act,” said the group in a statement. “Today, our city stands at a crossroads. The divide between low-growth advocates and those who see the need for strategic expansion has never been clearer.”
Prescott Pulse also claims the proposed general plan goes beyond its intended scope of planning land use decisions (land, roads, water, and city growth) by introducing new property rights regulations and taxpayer burdens.
The general plan will appear on the November 4 ballot this year. The city council is scheduled to make a decision on the general plan during their meeting on May 27.
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by Matthew Holloway | Mar 25, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
A motion to urge President Donald Trump and the United States Congress to eliminate the “Vision Zero” transportation framework is making its way through the Arizona legislature.
Senate Concurrent Memorial (SCM) 1002, introduced by State Senator Carine Werner, and cosponsored by Sens. Angius, Carroll, Gowan, and Shope, asserts that the “Vision Zero” doctrine “diverts from sound transportation engineering methodologies and instead employs a one-size-fits-all approach that requires the adoption in all circumstances of lower speed limits, fewer and narrower roads and draconian traffic enforcement measures.” It also observes that while major cities within the U.S. have implemented these policies with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities, experience has proven that they achieve the opposite.
The drafters of the bill note: “New York City experienced the highest traffic fatalities in a decade, Los Angeles sustained a 22-year record high in fatalities in 2023 and Seattle has been subject to a steady increase in fatalities.”
The City of Phoenix approved the implementation of such a plan in September 2022 and has reintroduced and re-approved them since, with the most recent approved of in October 2024. The original plan was unanimously approved by the Phoenix City Council and allocated $10 million in annual funding.
As reported by ABC15, the Phoenix Department of Street Transportation reported in May of last year that although the city saw a decrease in serious traffic accidents, there was also an increase… in deadly crashes. The city plan proposes to reduce traffic deaths to zero by 2050 with Street Transportation Director Joe Brown saying, “It’s ambitious as it should be. Some places we’re hitting the mark and some places we have some work to do.”
As previously reported by AZ Free News, the Fountain Hills Town Council rejected the ‘Vision Zero Road Diet Plan’ in January by a 5-2 vote. Councilman Allen Skillicorn, joined by fellow councilors Gayle Earle, Rick Watts, Vice Mayor Hannah Toth, and Mayor Gerry Friedel, voted to reject the Resolution and terminate the plan, citing that it was rife with DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) policies unrelated to traffic safety.
“How is this plan racially equitable? Climate change, how does that relate to streets?” Councilwoman Earle asked.
In the text of the measure, Werner notes that “after adopting Vision Zero, Denver, Colorado’s traffic fatalities increased by 33% in the next five years compared to the previous five years, with motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclists experiencing the highest fatality rates.” She added, “Portland, Oregon’s 2024 city auditor report attributed a doubling of fatalities to Vision Zero policies, despite reduced speed limits, stricter enforcement, intersection reconfigurations and improved lighting, raising concerns about its real-world safety outcomes.”
Concluding the memorandum to the Federal government, the Senate asked “that the President and Congress of the United States eliminate Vision Zero and the safe systems approach to transportation planning and funding, and instead promote transportation solutions that prioritize sound engineering methods, reliable safety outcomes, flexibility and engineering innovation without compromising individual freedoms or economic efficiency.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jan 26, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
In a 5-2 vote last week, the Fountain Hills Town Council rejected the ‘Vision Zero Road Diet Plan,’ to be initiated through a Federal FY 2024 SS4A Grant Program applied for under former Mayor Ginny Dickey.
The grant is part of the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” despite its wide rejection by all but two House Republicans and a majority of GOP Senators. The grant would have launched a two-year long project with $240,000 in federal funds matched with $60,000 from the town, bringing the total taxpayer cost to $300,000, according to documentation prepared by Town Engineer David Janover.
The summary of the plan explains: “This grant aligns with the Town’s commitment to Vision Zero principles, aiming to eliminate traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries while fostering safer, more accessible transportation infrastructure. Additionally, the grant is in direct accord with the Town’s 2022 Strategic Plan which notes a priority of ‘improving the public health, well-being, and safety of our town.’”
The plan purported to:
- Identify areas for infrastructure improvements to enhance safety for all users.
- Develop speed management strategies in high-risk areas.
- Engage residents through public outreach to reflect community needs.
- Address pedestrian accessibility and emergency route improvements.
- Provide a framework for future safety improvements and grant applications.
Councilman Allen Skillicorn, joined by fellow councilors Gayle Earle, Rick Watts, Vice Mayor Hannah Toth, and Mayor Gerry Friedel, voted to reject the Resolution citing the plan’s inclusion of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) policies.
Councilwoman Earle asked pointedly during the Jan. 21st meeting, “How is this plan racially equitable? Climate change, how does that relate to streets?”
As noted by Earle, the text of the grant agreement included a page-and-a-half-long commitment to “Improve Racial Equity and Reduce Barriers to Opportunity,” in which the town provided a “supporting narrative.” It stated, “The Town of Fountain Hills is committed to addressing equity considerations as part of its Comprehensive Safety Action Plan under the SS4A grant. While Fountain Hills is an affluent community, its neighboring community, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, represents an underserved population. Recognizing the proximity and interconnectedness of these communities, the Town will actively engage with representatives from the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation to gather input on how Fountain Hills’ street and walking networks can better serve all users and improve regional equity.”
“Efforts will include:
- Targeted Outreach: Collaborating with leaders and residents of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation to understand how Fountain Hills’ transportation infrastructure impacts their access to opportunities and regional connections.
- Community Engagement Workshops: Hosting inclusive sessions to gather feedback on specific barriers to safe walking, biking, and driving within Fountain Hills for residents traveling from or to the Nation.
- Equity-Focused Improvements: Using feedback to identify opportunities for enhancing transportation safety and accessibility in Fountain Hills, such as improved pedestrian crossings, better wayfinding, and multimodal infrastructure.
This approach ensures the Town of Fountain Hills addresses equity and reduces barriers to opportunity within its jurisdiction while fostering a collaborative relationship with its neighboring community. By integrating these considerations into the Safety Action Plan, the Town demonstrates its commitment to creating a more inclusive and accessible environment for all.”
Skillicorn condemned the plan saying, “This plan includes a commitment to gender equity, why? This plan mentions greenhouse gases seven times, mentions climate change nine times, mentions environmental justice thirteen times, and mentions equity twenty times. Our town and our nation have rejected wokeness and DEI. Today is a new era of common sense. This is not for our town.”
As referred to by Skillicorn, the grant agreement included a commitment to “prioritized climate change resilience and environmental justice.” It stated, “To address environmental justice, we have engaged with local communities, including those historically affected by environmental disparities, to understand their specific needs and concerns. This engagement informs our plan to incorporate shaded pathways, safe pedestrian areas, and accessible emergency routes, ensuring equitable access to cooler, walkable areas that mitigate urban heat island effects. Together, these actions reflect our commitment to climate adaptation and environmental justice, enhancing the well-being and resilience of all residents.”
Skillicorn followed with a motion to deny what he referred to in a statement to AZ Free News as the “Woke DEI Vision Zero Road Diet Plan.” Vice Mayor Hannah Toth seconded the motion observing, “Of course we want zero pedestrian injuries. My job is to find hidden meanings, often these are not so great in practice. Fifteen Minute Cities sound great but are not. Vision Zero is something I do not feel comfortable inviting into our town.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
